The family Robinson Crusoe

by Johann David Wyss

Father.—Your brother is quite right, my boys; God is indeed every where, and the best worship consists in thinking of him, and of his holy will, and resolving to fulfil it. In this sense, there is no place in the world that may not serve for a church, because we may entertain pious sentiments every where; and this majestic arch of heaven, the immediate work of the Almighty, ought more effectually to raise the soul and touch the heart, than an edifice of stone made by the hand of man! We will, therefore, perform divine service this morning; we shall have no sermon to-day, those I know by heart being beyond your comprehension: young persons should be addressed on the subject of the Supreme Being, according to their feeble understanding, and not as we would address an audience whose judgement and reason are matured. I will hereafter compose a sermon that shall be suitable for you: today we will repeat the prayers, and sing one of those affecting hymns of adoration which your mother taught you. I will then relate to you a parable of the Great King, which is well adapted to awaken pious thoughts and sentiments in your minds.

The Boys.—A parable, a parable! What, like that of the Sower in the Testament. Ah, yes, do, papa; we will listen for ever to that; do begin directly.

Father.—Every thing in its turn, if you please: first, let us perform our usual morning devotions; then we will descend to breakfast, and take care of our animals, a work which God permits us to engage in even on Sundays: in the meanwhile, I will reflect a little on the history I am to relate, and then I will call you round me.

Accordingly, after prayers, we descended the ladder, and breakfasted on warm milk; we served the animals also with their meal, and then we all sat down on the tender grass; the boys full of impatient curiosity; their mother absorbed in silent reflection, her hands joined and her eyes sometimes turned towards the sky; while I was penetrated with the most lively desire to impress upon the young minds of my children, a subject I considered of the highest importance for their well-being, both in this world and in that which is to come.

All now standing up, I repeated aloud the church service, which I knew by heart, and we sung some verses from the hundred and nineteenth psalm, which the boys had before learned; after which we sat down, and I began as follows:

“My dear children, there was once a Great King, whose kingdom was called The country of Light and Reality, because the purest and softest light of the sun reigned there continually, which caused the inhabitants to be in a perpetual state of activity. On the furthest borders of this kingdom, northward, there was another country which also belonged to the Great King, and the immense extent of which, was unknown to all but himself. From time immemorial, a plan the most exact of this country, had been preserved in the royal archives. This second kingdom was called The kingdom of Obscurity or of Night, because every thing in it was gloomy and inactive.

“In the most fertile and agreeable part of his empire of Reality, this Great King had a residence called the Heavenly City, in which he lived and kept his court, which was the most brilliant that the imagination can form an idea of. Millions of guards, and servants high in dignity, remained for ever round him, and a still larger number held themselves in readiness to receive his commands. The first of these were clothed in robes of cloth that was lighter than silk, and white as snow; for white, the image of purity, was the favourite colour of the Great King. Others of his attendants carried flaming swords in their hands, and their garments displayed the most brilliant colours of the rainbow; each of these stood in waiting to execute the will of the King, with the rapidity of lightning, on receiving from him the slightest sign. All were happy to be admitted into his presence; their faces shone with the mildest joy, and wore the impression of a calm serenity, and of the absence of all inquietude and pain: there was but one heart, and one soul among them; the sentiment of paternal concord so united these beings, that no envy or jealousy ever arose among them. The common centre of all their thoughts, and all their sentiments, was devotion to their sovereign: it would have been impossible either to see or converse with them, without passionately desiring, even at any sacrifice, to obtain their friendship, and to partake their lot. Among the rest of the inhabitants of the Heavenly City, there were some less close in their attendance upon the Great King; but they were all virtuous, all happy, all had been enriched by the beneficence of the monarch, and, what is of still higher price, had received constant marks of his paternal care; for his subjects were all equal in his eyes, and he loved them and treated them as if they had been his children.

“The Great King had, besides the two kingdoms I have been describing, an uninhabited island of considerable extent; it was his wish to people and cultivate this island, for all within it was a kind of chaos: he destined it to be for some years the abode of such future citizens as he intended to receive finally into his residence, to which only such of his subjects were admitted, as had rendered themselves worthy by their conduct. This island was called Earthly Abode; he who should have passed some time in it, and by his virtues, his application to labour, and the cultivation of the land, should have rendered himself worthy of reward, was afterwards to be received into the Heavenly City, and made one of its happy inhabitants.

“To effect this end, the Great King caused a fleet to be equipped, which was to transport the new colonists to this island. These he chose from the kingdom of Night, and for his first gift bestowed upon them the enjoyment of light, and the view of the lovely face of nature, of which they had been deprived in their gloomy and unknown abode. It will easily be imagined that they arrived joyful and happy, at least they became so, when they had been for a short time accustomed to the multitude of new objects which struck their feeble sight. The island was rich and fertile when cultivated. The beneficent King provided each individual who was disembarked upon it, with all the things he could want in the time he had fixed for their stay in it, and all the means for obtaining the certainty of being admitted as citizens of his magnificent abode, when they should leave the Earthly Island. All that was required to entitle them to this benefit was, that they should occupy themselves unceasingly in useful labour, and strictly obey the commands of the Great King which he made known to them. He sent to them his only son, who addressed them from his father in the following terms:

“‘My dear children, I have called you from the kingdom of Night and Insensibility to render you happy by the gifts of life, of sentiment, and of activity. But your happiness for the most part will depend upon yourselves. You will be happy if you wish to be so. If such is your sincere desire, you must never forget that I am your good king, your tender father; and you must faithfully fulfil my will in the cultivation of the country I have confided to your care. Each of you shall receive, on his arriving at the island, the portion of land which is intended for him; and my further commands respecting your conduct, will be soon communicated to you. I shall send you wise and learned men, who will explain to you my commands; and that you may of yourselves seek after the light necessary for your welfare, and remember my laws at every instant of your lives, it is my will that each father of a family, shall keep an exact copy of them in his house, and read them daily to all the persons who belong to him. Further, each first day of the week, I require to be devoted to my service. In each colony, all the people shall assemble together as brothers in one place, where shall be read and explained to them, the laws contained in my archives. The rest of this day shall be employed in making serious reflections on the duties and destination of the colonists, and on the best means to fulfil the same: thus, it shall be possible to all, to receive instruction concerning the best manner and most effectual means, of improving the land which has been confided to your care: thus, you will each day learn to manure, to sow, to plant, to water, and cleanse the land from tares, and from all evil weeds that may choke the good seed. On this same day, each of you may present his supplications, may tell me what he stands in need of, and what he desires to have, to forward the perfection of his labour; all these requests will appear before me, and I shall answer, by granting such as I shall think reasonable, and tending to a salutary end. If your heart tells you that the various benefits you enjoy, deserve your gratitude, and if you will testify it by doubling your activity, and by consecrating to me the day I have chosen for myself, I will take care that this day of rest, instead of being an injury to you, shall become a benefit, through the salutary repose of your body, and that of the animals given you to assist your labours, and who, as well as yourself, should enjoy repose on that day to recruit their strength. Even the wild animals of the field, and of the forests, ought on that day to be protected from the pursuit of the hunter.